This BRIN application is designed to provide funding for research capacity building in Rhode Island, a state that has not been able to participate fully in the research programs of the NIH. The guiding principle in organizing this application for the development of a biomedical sciences research network is to facilitate an increase in the number of investigators who would be in a better position to successfully compete for NIH funding. This will be best achieved by supporting junior investigators at the doctoral degree granting institutions, URI and BU, who are required to obtain extramural grants for their research. Also, by building the research capacities of primarily undergraduate institutions at Rhode Island College (RIC), Providence College (PC), Bryant College (BC), and Roger Williams University (RWU) so that their faculty may also become involved in collaborative projects with the established investigators. These efforts would strengthen the competitiveness of existing investigators as well as provide a pool of new investigators to apply for NIH funding. These research activities would also produce a cadre of trained graduates, well qualified to participate in future development of a biomedical research and biotechnology base in Rhode Island. The network is planned with the objective to support and develop talented individuals who are committed to research careers in Rhode Island, and to build the biomedical research capacity of institutions in Rhode Island that have historically received little NIH funding.